Missing hunter found dead

The body of Edward Hempel, the 63-year-old Post falls hunter missing since Monday, was recovered early today from a hillside in the Bernard Peak area near Farragut State Park.

The body was spotted early Wednesday evening by members of the 36th Rescue Squadron who were in a helicopter from Fairchild Air Force Base assisting the sheriff's office in searching for the missing man.

The body was observed by the helicopter team on the face of a cliff, about a half-mile from where Hempel was last seen, and several hundred feet down from a ridge.

"Unfortunately, due to impending nightfall and lack of resources to get to the remains, searchers were forced to wait until daybreak to recover the body," said a press release from the sheriff's office.

At the sheriff's office's request, Two-Bear Air helicopter from Flathead County, Montana, recovered Hempel's body from the hillside at daybreak Thursday.

They delivered the body to a sheriff’s marine unit at the base of the mountain along the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille.

The remains were positively identified and notifications were made to Hempel’s family this morning by sheriff’s detectives.

An autopsy will be conducted at a later time.

"The Sheriff’s Office expresses our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Hempel and offers gratitude to the dedicated searchers that aided in his recovery," said the press release.